Ilya Davidenok has tested positive for anabolic steroids in the Tour de l’Avenir on August 28. Davidenok, who was with the Astana development team for the last two years, has been a stagiaire with the Astana team since August 1. The future of Astana could be in doubt after a third positive test in a short period of time. 

Davidenok is Kazakhstan’s road race champion and finished eighth in the Under-23 race at last month’s world road race championships. He has not yet indicated whether he will request analysis of his B sample. He has been provisionally suspended in the meantime.

The Astana team are going to have a full review of their licence within the next month as this was the third time in the space of a few weeks that one of their riders tested positive. Both Maxim and Valentin Iglinsky were caught using EPO in September.

Team director, Alexander Vinokourov was disappointed and angry after the the Iglinksy-brothers tested positive. Vinokourov has not made a statement about Davidenok’s positive test as of yet.